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    boys cross country

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    andrewlin


    Posts : 35
    Join date : 2009-09-01

    boys cross country Empty boys cross country

    Post  andrewlin Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:44 pm

    The Arcadia Boys Cross Country team trained for CIF, State, and Nationals. Every mile was run in preparation for these three crucial competitions. For the veterans on the team who participated in these races, it took not just months to reach this point but years. Years of cumulative training, of which each race was simply a stepping stone to the next. Years spent by previous generations, whose hard work paved the path for today’s runners. Crouching on the starting line in anticipation of the gun shot, the Apaches felt the weight of not just their individual obligations but history.
    On Nov. 21 at CIF Finals, the boys tested their championship mettle, racing on the infamously mountainous Mt. Sac course. As always, the Apaches began their day with a time-honored tradition: body-painting. For those unable to race in CIF Finals, this was a way to demonstrate support for their brethren who were racing. It was a scene out of Lord of the Flies: all around there were scores of shirtless, hollering, screaming, painted boys, tearing up and down the course waving banners and flags of blood-red.
    And so, with this invested emotion, it was hard on the team when they qualified for State with fourth place medals. With a team time of 77 minutes and 1 second, they ran faster as a team than first-place winner Dana Hills, which finished in 77 minutes and 21 seconds. When asked about this apparent contradiction, Coach O’Brien explained, “Arcadia actually ran faster but placed our runners too far behind to win.” Despite the day’s shortcomings, junior Ammar Moussa placed first in his race with a time of 14:32. Junior Allen Leung summed it all up when he said, “The best part of CIF finals was having everyone there showing their support. We only ran average that day, but just having the team there gave us reason to run.”
    Then State came on Nov. 28. Having been there the fifth consecutive year in a row, the Apaches knew just what to do when they flew up to Fresno to face the fastest teams in the state of California. They tasted sweet victory, again running the fastest team time of the day and placing third. And in the way of individual accomplishments, Ammar Moussa claimed first place. Recounting his own experience at the State meet, senior Patrick Wrobel said, “The best thing about Fresno is the atmosphere of the race—at every turn there are people cheering. When runners speed by the spectators, their voices go out in an indiscernible roll of thunder and all you can tell is that they are there to support their team. And once the racers pass, the spectators become runners themselves, off to the next spot to cheer.”
    Leaving during the school week, the team flew up to Portland, Oregon to race in Nike Team Nationals. According to Assistant Coach Alex Fan, “Nationals was an amazing experience. Nike treated our team like rockstars for a weekend, catering to their needs for 4 days and 3 nights. We never had to worry about what we were going to eat and what we were going to do next. I think for me, the most amazing thing I saw was when we walked into the hotel and saw our ‘Arcadia XC Club’ banner hanging from the balcony with all the other teams and individuals. I think that was when it really sunk in that we had finally made it.” Never before had the team been invited to participate in the seeded race. Facing this new level of competition, the team placed 20th in the nation, not as well as they had hoped, while Ammar Moussa placed 4th.
    Though all the national acclaim, medals, trophies, and photo opportunities were great, in the end the most personally rewarding things came in between races. Reflecting back on his time at Nationals, junior Allen Leung recalled the “talent show, in which we sang.” When asked for his most memorable experience, senior Yufei Fu put it best when he said, in the tersest manner possible, “Not really sure. It was all fun.”
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    reginaliu


    Posts : 189
    Join date : 2009-09-03

    boys cross country Empty Re: boys cross country

    Post  reginaliu Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:13 pm

    The Arcadia Boys Cross Country team trained for CIF, State, and Nationals. Every mile was run in preparation for these three crucial competitions. For the veterans on the team who participated in these races, it took not just months to reach this point but years. Years of cumulative training, of which each race was simply a stepping stone to the next. Years spent by previous generations, whose hard work paved the path for today’s runners. Crouching on the starting line in anticipation of the gun shot, the Apaches felt the weight of not just their individual obligations but history.
    On Nov. 21 at CIF Finals, the boys tested their championship mettle, racing on the infamously mountainous Mt. Sac course. As always, the Apaches began their day with a time-honored tradition: body-painting. For those unable to race in CIF Finals, this was a way to demonstrate support for their brethren who were racing. It was a scene out of Lord of the Flies: all around there were scores of shirtless, hollering, screaming, painted boys, tearing up and down the course waving banners and flags of blood-red.
    And so, with this invested emotion, it was hard on the team when they qualified for State with fourth place medals. With a team time of 77 minutes and 1 second, they ran faster as a team than first-place winner Dana Hills, which finished in 77 minutes and 21 seconds. When asked about this apparent contradiction, Coach O’Brien explained, “Arcadia actually ran faster but placed our runners too far behind to win.” Despite the day’s shortcomings, junior Ammar Moussa placed first in his race with a time of 14:32. Junior Allen Leung summed it all up when he said, “The best part of CIF finals was having everyone there showing their support. We only ran average that day, but just having the team there gave us reason to run.”
    Then State came on Nov. 28. Having been there the fifth consecutive year in a row, the Apaches knew just what to do when they flew up to Fresno to face the fastest teams in the state of California. They tasted sweet victory, again running the fastest team time of the day and placing third. And in the way of individual accomplishments, Ammar Moussa claimed first place. Recounting his own experience at the State meet, senior Patrick Wrobel said, “The best thing about Fresno is the atmosphere of the race—at every turn there are people cheering. When runners speed by the spectators, their voices go out in an indiscernible roll of thunder and all you can tell is that they are there to support their team. And once the racers pass, the spectators become runners themselves, off to the next spot to cheer.”
    Leaving during the school week, the team flew up to Portland, Oregon to race in Nike Team Nationals. According to Assistant Coach Alex Fan, “Nationals was an amazing experience. Nike treated our team like rockstars for a weekend, catering to their needs for 4 [four] days and 3 [three] nights. We never had to worry about what we were going to eat and what we were going to do next. I think for me, the most amazing thing I saw was when we walked into the hotel and saw our ‘Arcadia XC Club’ banner hanging from the balcony with all the other teams and individuals. I think that was when it really sunk in that we had finally made it.” Never before had the team been invited to participate in the seeded race. Facing this new level of competition, the team placed 20th in the nation, not as well as they had hoped, while Ammar Moussa [Ammar (just the first name of AHS students after first mention)] placed 4th.
    Though all the national acclaim, medals, trophies, and photo opportunities were great, in the end the most personally rewarding things came in between races. Reflecting back on his time at Nationals, junior Allen Leung recalled the “talent show, in which we sang.” When asked for his most memorable experience, senior Yufei Fu put it best when he said, in the tersest manner possible, “Not really sure. It was all fun.”
    avatar
    andrewlin


    Posts : 35
    Join date : 2009-09-01

    boys cross country Empty Re: boys cross country

    Post  andrewlin Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:35 pm

    The Arcadia Boys Cross Country team trained for CIF, State, and Nationals. Every mile was run in preparation for these three crucial competitions. For the veterans on the team who participated in these races, it took not just months to reach this point but years. Years of cumulative training, of which each race was simply a stepping stone to the next. Years spent by previous generations, whose hard work paved the path for today’s runners. Crouching on the starting line in anticipation of the gun shot, the Apaches felt the weight of not just their individual obligations but history.
    On Nov. 21 at CIF Finals, the boys tested their championship mettle, racing on the infamously mountainous Mt. Sac course. As always, the Apaches began their day with a time-honored tradition: body-painting. For those unable to race in CIF Finals, this was a way to demonstrate support for their brethren who were racing. It was a scene out of Lord of the Flies: all around there were scores of shirtless, hollering, screaming, painted boys, tearing up and down the course waving banners and flags of blood-red.
    And so, with this invested emotion, it was hard on the team when they qualified for State with fourth place medals. With a team time of 77 minutes and 1 second, they ran faster as a team than first-place winner Dana Hills, which finished in 77 minutes and 21 seconds. When asked about this apparent contradiction, Coach O’Brien explained, “Arcadia actually ran faster but placed our runners too far behind to win.” Despite the day’s shortcomings, junior Ammar Moussa placed first in his race with a time of 14:32. Junior Allen Leung summed it all up when he said, “The best part of CIF finals was having everyone there showing their support. We only ran average that day, but just having the team there gave us reason to run.”
    Then State came on Nov. 28. Having been there the fifth consecutive year in a row, the Apaches knew just what to do when they flew up to Fresno to face the fastest teams in the state of California. They tasted sweet victory, again running the fastest team time of the day and placing third. And in the way of individual accomplishments, Ammar Moussa claimed first place. Recounting his own experience at the State meet, senior Patrick Wrobel said, “The best thing about Fresno is the atmosphere of the race—at every turn there are people cheering. When runners speed by the spectators, their voices go out in an indiscernible roll of thunder and all you can tell is that they are there to support their team. And once the racers pass, the spectators become runners themselves, off to the next spot to cheer.”
    Leaving during the school week, the team flew up to Portland, Oregon to race in Nike Team Nationals. According to Assistant Coach Alex Fan, “Nationals was an amazing experience. Nike treated our team like rockstars for a weekend, catering to their needs for four days and three nights. We never had to worry about what we were going to eat and what we were going to do next. I think for me, the most amazing thing I saw was when we walked into the hotel and saw our ‘Arcadia XC Club’ banner hanging from the balcony with all the other teams and individuals. I think that was when it really sunk in that we had finally made it.” Never before had the team been invited to participate in the seeded race. Facing this new level of competition, the team placed 20th in the nation, not as well as they had hoped, while Ammar placed 4th.
    Though all the national acclaim, medals, trophies, and photo opportunities were great, in the end the most personally rewarding things came in between races. Reflecting back on his time at Nationals, junior Allen Leung recalled the “talent show, in which we sang.” When asked for his most memorable experience, senior Yufei Fu put it best when he said, in the tersest manner possible, “Not really sure. It was all fun.”

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